FishTrail

ended

The objectives of the FishTrail project are: (1) to boost the competitiveness and integration of transnational Angling tourism in Europe, (2) to support and develop a network of sustainable angling tourism in Europe, (3) to enhance, utilise and protect the natural and cultural angling environment, and (4) to provide a scalable, sustainable, network-based model that can last beyond the lifespan and grow to cover all EU locations. The project will be focused on the Angling Tourist and will produce a FishTrail Network, including concrete deliverables of 4 promotional fishing festivals, a website containing the Angling Tourist Fish Planner, and 25 location-specific tourism ‘how-to’ videos. Angling tourists pay to undertake the activity of fishing and this gives the fish a cash value. Therefore the fish in our environment can be regarded as our natural capital, which generates income for SME micro-businesses (angling providers). Angling typically occurs in the tourism ‘shoulder seasons’, i.e. spring and autumn, and therefore plays a key role in keeping the local touristic economy alive when summer tourists are not available. ➢ Visiting anglers bring between €222 to €40/ day to the project areas they visit ➢ The core regions covered by the project attract nearly 1 million angling tourists ➢ Attracting 1,000 visiting anglers will bring in between €130,000 to €85,000 and provide an average 2.5 jobs The Project will ensure environmental sustainability by visibly showcasing, demonstrating and promoting angling opportunities that protect the natural environment. Specifically this will include: 1) Promotion of catch and release angling for wild fish, 2) Use of environmentally friendly fishing methods including using non-toxic materials and avoiding line and fishing tackle from entering the ecosystem, 3) Prompting eco-angling locations and SME’s that re-invest some of their income to environmental improvements that also support the fish populations